About

$5,615

pledged of $5,000 goal

90

backers

"DREAM WITH ME" THE DOCUMENTARY IS THE CHANGE WE CAN ALL BE A PART OF:

Hello Everyone!
Thank you for checking out our project on kickstarter.com. We would love for you to watch our video where you will meet us and see our trailer for our independent documentary "Dream with Me". Also, we put a reachable goal of $5000 for a great starting point to create more awareness and for an opportunity to get more people involved with what we are up to. We know that with your help we can achieve this goal, and hopefully even surpass it! To find out more about us check out our story below!

Sincerely,
The Dream with Me Team.

HERE IS OUR STORY:
For the past year, we went back to school to find that things have changed. There's no denying that education in this country is in a horrific crisis. Our test scores are the lowest in history. Our dropout rate is rising at a terrifying rate. Programs are being cancelled and teachers let go due to lack of money, leaving our classrooms overcrowded and under funded. We are providing our students with a future in which they won't be able to compete with the young minds of children from other countries. BUT THERE IS HOPE!

"Dream with Me" is an intimate portrayal of the public education system in America. We filmed for an entire school year in 3 public schools (elementary, middle, and high school) trying to discover what is really going on in the classrooms. Through the unprecedented cooperation from the schools, we were able to capture moments never before seen. While there have been numerous documentaries on education, no film to our knowledge has had such unrestricted access to real classrooms, real teachers and administrators, and real students. So we feel we have something unique and special.

We mainly filmed in Los Angeles but also visited other cities, like New York and Dallas, to gain national perspective on the issue. Let me tell you, after being in the trenches for a solid year observing, we learned so much about the inner workings of our education system on a national to local level - how federal mandates, unions, district decisions, bureaucracy, and budget cuts all affect what is happening in our classrooms. In the film, we connect this directly to personal stories of students, teachers and administrators as they work together to navigate this broken system. We also gained a deeper understanding of the problem and why we are possibly in crisis mode with our education system. If we fail to educate our children properly, we as a nation will bear the cost in lost wages and an increase in social services. For us, realizing the long-term effects of this problem on our whole country has been eye opening. But what is most heart-wrenching is the children not being given a chance to reach their dreams.

However, we have discovered what can be done to start solving the problems. Yes, the problem is BIG but through our film we will take this enormous problem, break it down and define real steps towards doable solutions. We have seen through the eyes of a reform team that change is possible! The reform team we followed took over 10 of the worst performing schools in America, and 9 out of those 10 schools improved test scores this year! SO THERE IS HOPE. The story is profound, important, inspirational, and hopeful. And it needs to be told.

Our hope is that the film will become the "Inconvenient Truth" for education. We want to wake people up to this dire situation and inspire them into action. Only by making changes now will we allow our children a chance for a better future.

Our production crew for this film was quite small yet we managed to do the unthinkable -film in 3 schools for a full year. But the reality is if we don’t complete the film then the story of “Dream with Me” can’t get out there. What is so remarkable is no one on our production team has children yet we realize this problem affects all of us.

As filmmakers, we realize we can do our part to reform the education system by sharing the inspirational stories of hope and change that can possibly touch, move and inspire a nation to take action. The more we filmed, the more passionate we became about honoring the voices of the teachers, children and educators we met. In truth, we all have an opportunity to influence and inspire a child to reach for his or her dreams...sometimes we just need to be reminded why it's so important. A movie may be a person's first exposure to a particular topic, raising the awareness that a problem exists; it can also be the beginning of a solution. "Dream with Me" will bring awareness to the public using the power of media. In order to really affect change in education and become a call-to-action film, it is important to expand our community circle to reach out to all Americans who want to participate in this great movement.

If you are as excited as we are by the possibility of change please consider supporting our film. As I’m sure you know, independent documentary filmmaking is extremely challenging, especially when it comes to fundraising. Despite the current economy, we have been successfully fundraising while filming this entire year, but have almost exhausted our resources. We are now in post production, pouring over 900 hours of footage and we are aware of the urgency to get this story out to the public. But in order to do that, we have to raise the remaining funds. We are currently involved in multiple endeavors to accomplish this and Kickstarter.com is one of the ways. That is where all of you come in. We are attempting to raise $5,000 by October 15, 2009. For every donation, you will receive something in return from us. You'll notice the rewards listed to your right. For specific donation amounts you can get things in return. Everyone who donates will get access to exclusive updates and behind-the-scenes photos. Through your support, you have the ability to help share inspiring stories about parents, teachers, and students across America.

THE PLAN:
"Dream with Me" will be submitted to international film festivals such as Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca and Toronto. After it has run the festival circuit, it will be distributed in movie theatres and throughout the world on digital mediums including iTunes, Youtube, MySpace and Facebook.

HELP PLANT THE SEED:
We would be extremely grateful for any contribution that you could make to help us reach our goal. As little $10 can make a big difference. Your support will allow us to share this journey with the world. The creation of our documentary “Dream with Me” is only possible through support from people like you. By contributing, you are joining us in the movement to change the face of education. We believe every child can reach his or her potential to be anything they dream to be. Together, we can make a difference in all of our children’s lives.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR IF YOU HAVE A STORY TO SHARE ABOUT EDUCATION PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR BLOG AND WEBSITE: www.dreamwithme.org